Aston Villa: Manager Martin O'Neill's pre-season thoughts
WIND the clock back to December and Martin O’Neill was insistent that there was a different “mindset” in the Premier League which could finally lead to the end of the “monopoly” of the so-called “big four” clubs.
That was on the eve of Villa’s home league meeting with Arsenal with his side two places and two points ahead of Arsene Wenger’s then beleaguered side.
That gap became eight points in February.
O’Neill said it was the “duty” of clubs such as his to now “come and compete” with those who have dominated the Champions League places in recent campaigns.
Now step forwards back into August, 2009, and it is clear Manchester City’s riches have turned football on its head.
Fuelled by the wealth of owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Eastlands club quickly brought in Gareth Barry, Roque Santa Cruz, Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure. Then came the news that City were out to dent Villa’s hopes of landing Fabien Delph.
“There’s part of me that’s actually quite excited to see how they will do. It’s as if the Premier League has been reinvented,” he said during Villa’s Peace Cup exertions before adding: “I’m deflated by it.”
“You think you got quite close last season and suddenly another club has just stepped over you immediately before you can go on. It kind of punctures you. I’m sure if you asked David Moyes at Everton he would think the same.
“I would say for the first time since Chelsea became a major force five years ago the top four has become a genuine top five.”
The Villa manager continues to operate with the smallest playing squad in the Premier League with Martin Laursen, Gareth Barry and Zat Knight replaced by an injured Stewart Downing, Delph and Habib Beye. With Tottenham looking strong again under Harry Redknapp and Everton too looking to build on last season’s fifth place there are genuine causes for concern that Villa will struggle to repeat their successive top six finishes of O’Neill’s second and third years at the club.
But even if he admits the battle will be tough, O’Neill is a tough nut and there are no signs of him cracking.
His recipe for keeping up with the big spenders is simple – that every one of his players should be able to up their game and give more.
“I’m looking for everybody here to make an improvement,” he said. “I suppose they could retort and say we finished sixth in the league so we must have made some sort of contribution.
